Two local gardens incorporated in this year’s tour are in La Crescenta and Glendale.
La Crescenta residents Gordon and Leor Ownby are the first and only La Crescenta location along the Theodore Payne Foundation Garden tour. The Ownbys began designing their front yard with the Theodore Payne Foundation requirements in mind. They worked with FormLA Landscaping designer Cassy Aoyagi and had three goals — conserve water, create habitats for bird and wildlife preservation and craft a yard that resembled a natural California landscape.
“It’s kind of a tradition around here for people to plant grass and look like an English manor, but we wanted it to look like California,” Gordon Ownby said.
The Ownbys began demolition in September 2009 and finished the garden in three weeks. Now, they sit back and enjoy their view of the Verdugo Mountains.
“We’re having the designer maintain it every week,” Gordon Ownby said. “We like to spend our Saturday mornings drinking coffee and waving at the neighbors.”
The most distinctive part of the Ownby yard is the walkway and dry stack wall. It’s also the garden feature they’re most proud of.
“The dry stack wall uses no cement, it’s just placed carefully,” Gordon Ownby said. “The nice thing about it is it creates a habitat for lizards. That’s very good for the health of the garden and for all the wildlife to survive.”
In Glendale, Peter and Karen Veloz will host visitors in their outdoor living room that combines a contemporary infinity spa, Zen garden and fire pit with an al fresco cooking and dining spot.
This particular garden has unique traits, said Lili Singer, special projects coordinator for the foundation.
